Provide technical and strategic advice and services to FAO and IAEA Member States through feasibility studies, economic assessments, the design and technical support to the development, implementation and appraisal of pilot and operational area-wide field projects aimed at the sustainable and environmentally friendly management of major plant insect pests affecting agriculture in Member States.

Undertake field missions, select and brief consultants and experts, monitor technical progress, identify problems and obstacles that may prevent or delay advancement towards the identified project objectives, and generate practical (entomological, engineering and/or management) solutions to eliminate obstacles.

Transfer technology and develops technical capacity in Member States by organizing and lecturing at training courses, workshops and other national, regional and international meetings.

Contribute to policy development, priority setting and other normative and regulatory activities in the field of insect pest control, through the design and conduct of analytical studies and benefit-cost assessments, by participating in advisory committees and task forces, and providing technical input to the policy and standards development of regional and international bodies.

Ensure the visibility and impact of the activities of the Insect Pest Control Section by analysing, synthesizing and disseminating data through public information channels, newsletters, preparing and editing technical manuals, guidelines and training materials, and developing and maintaining information systems, web pages and databases.

Plan, manage, implement and evaluate coordinated research projects, aimed at improving the area-wide application of SIT and other biological control methods, and publishes results in relevant scientific publications. Keep track of relevant research and technical developments, assessing their usefulness to support and improve on-going and future activities leading to more sustainable development in Member States. Suggests innovative R&D approaches, in direct conjunction with activities at the Insect Pest Control Laboratory.

Act as the focal point of all projects/activities delegated to him/her and ensures, as a committed team player in a matrix management environment, efficient utilisation of assigned resources and full coordination and transparency in all activities and deliberations with internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements:

Master’s Degree – Advanced university degree in biology or related field with special emphasis on entomology.

A minimum of seven years of applied working experience, of which some at the international level, in developing, planning, implementing and evaluating the application of SIT and related techniques as part of area-wide programmes that aim at suppressing, containing or eradicating major plant insect pests, and of which five years of practical management experience directing the AW-IPM application of SIT operations including the large scale mass-production and release of sterile insects and biological control agents and experience with the related economic, environmental, health and quarantine issues.

International experience in developing countries working on technical cooperation programmes dealing with insect pest control.

Experience in coordinating multidisciplinary and multicultural staff and stakeholders implementing complex insect pest control projects.

Experience in contributing, as part of regional and national plant protection organizations, to international standard setting for phytosanitary measures and priority setting in the implementation of insect pest control strategies.

Experience in editing, formatting and publishing technical guidelines, manuals, standard operational procedures and scientific papers.

Computer application skills, including databases, GIS hard and software, and statistical analysis of field data.

Excellent oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.